Madhu Koythodi Parameswaran

Introduction: Amṛtottaraṃ kaṣāyam is a widely prescribed polyherbal Ayurvedic recipe with Nāgara (Zingiber officinale), Amṛtā (Tinospora cordifolia), and Harītakī (Terminalia chebula) in the ratio if 2:6:4 or 1:3:2, thus satisfying the meaning of its name as the ‘one with a predominance [in quantity] for Amṛtā’. The widely cited reference for this recipe is the Sahasrayoga, where most editions describe the recipe titled Nāgarādi kaṣāyam as having the specific ratio widely accepted as that of the Amṛtottaraṃ kaṣāyam. The possibility of varied interpretations of the phrase ‘Nāgahastanayanāṅghribhāgaśaḥ’ has led to controversy over whether the Nāgarādi kaṣāyam cited in the Sahasrayogamcould indeed be considered the Amṛtottaraṃ kaṣāyam. This article uses a critical edition of the verse and a commentary seen in some manuscripts of the Sahasrayogam to elicit an alternate method of interpreting the above said phrase to deduce the ratio of ingredients. Materials and Methods: Four manuscripts (with sigla O, C1, C2, and C3) from two collections of manuscripts (Oḷaśśa family and Calicut University), along with the vulgate print edition of A S Gopala Pillai (S), were used to prepare the critical edition. Discussion and Conclusion: The commentary contained in the manuscripts of Sahasrayogam uses three different meanings of the word ‘Nāga’ (Nara, Triphaṇisarpa and Gaja) to qualify Hasta, Nayana and Aṅghri. Thus, the number of Narahasta (hands of a man) indicates the ratio of Nāgara (2), the number of Triphaṇisarpanayana (eyes of a three-hooded serpent) indicates the ratio of Amṛtā (2x3=6) and the number of Gajāṅghri (legs of an elephant) indicates the ratio of Harītakī (4). This commentary offers a simple and less convoluted interpretation of the meaning of the word ‘Nāgahastanayanāṅghribhāgaśaḥ’ to reach the widely accepted ratio of ingredients of the Amṛtottaraṃ kaṣāyam.